Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update: Week 37 

To date, FEMA has obligated more than $7.8 billion in federal funding to aid Mississippians through various Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs, including $3.1 billion in mission assignments. Mission assignments are work orders FEMA issues to other federal agencies requesting that they complete specific tasks during response and recovery, such as emergency medical assistance and debris removal.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is encouraging everyone ready to build and whose loan application has been approved to call its Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or email them at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov to arrange for a loan closing. Small business owners hit by Hurricane Katrina may apply for economic injury disaster loans until May 29. To date, the SBA's Disaster Assistance Program has approved more than $2.37 billion in low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and business owners throughout Mississippi.

Taking care of your physical and mental health needs is the focus for the sixth week of Mississippi's "Stay Alert. Stay Alive." hurricane preparedness campaign. Project Recovery, a division of the state's Department of Mental Health and funded by FEMA, provides free counseling services through community outreach, public education, information and referral for longer term needs including mental health and substance abuse treatment. Anyone needing crisis counseling should contact Project Recovery at 1-866-856-3227. Prior registration with FEMA is not required.

May 26 is the deadline for residents without personal transportation in case of an evacuation to register with MEMA's Evacuation Transportation Survey phone line. Residents in George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Stone and Pearl River counties should call 1-866-647-0966 or (TTY) 1-228-385-5769 for the speech- or hearing-impaired. The toll-free number is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

More than $1.2 billion in assistance has been disbursed to more than 273,000 Mississippi households that have registered through FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (IHP). Housing Assistance, used to pay for rent, repair or housing construction, accounts for more than $833 million. Other Needs Assistance (ONA), used for uninsured or under-insured disaster-related necessary expenses, is the second largest category. ONA is a cost-share program which is 75 percent federally funded, 25 percent state funded.

More than 102,000 people are housed temporarily in more than 38,000 FEMA-provided travel trailers and mobile homes, including the more than 2,800 units compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Public Assistance program has obligated more than $1 billion for emergency work and infrastructure repair. This includes $529 million for debris removal, $238 million for emergency protective measures, $121 million to repair public facilities, $149 million to restore public utilities, $35 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks, $22 million to repair roads and bridges and $949,000 to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels.

To date, more than 41 million cubic yards of debris have been removed from public and private property. Operations for the entire state of Mississippi are 96 percent complete.

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has paid more than $2.1 billion in flood insurance claims to policyholders in Mississippi. The NFIP plays a critical role in encouraging communities to adopt, implement and enforce broader floodplain-management regulations and programs.

Mississippians who applied for disaster assistance can update their contact or personal information or inquire about the status of their application two easy ways: by calling the toll-free FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 or accessing the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.